


My Best Friend

by LaufeyOfThay



Series: Thayvian Tales [10]
Category: Baldur's Gate
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-19
Updated: 2020-05-19
Packaged: 2021-03-02 21:42:34
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 15,861
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24273760
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LaufeyOfThay/pseuds/LaufeyOfThay
Summary: If you ever wondered where Edwin inherited his attitude from, you're about to find out. A story about an unusual friendship, because everybody needs a Best Friend, particularly those who claim otherwise.
Series: Thayvian Tales [10]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1717807





	1. Chapter 1

"And if we combine blow frog poison with common Essence of Mandrake, then we prolong the reaction and…"

_It's really amazing how dull he is. Strange how the others manage to keep awake. Hmpf. I bet I could explain these things in half the time and make them sound interesting too. And without the omissions, simplifications and mistakes._

"The corpse will take on a distinct purple color which is caused by…"

_I wonder if I could toss some of those frog eyes we were working on earlier into his coffee without him spotting me? If I wait until his back is turned and he raises his voice…_

"Pay attention you two over there, or I'll use you for my next research project. This is serious."

* Plip * _Yes! Made it! Come on, you old goat, drink it already. You owe me some amusement after wasting two hours of my life on this drivel._

"Young Dekaras. Could you perhaps see fit to tell me exactly why you suddenly seem so very interested in my every move after having ignored my lesson entirely for the past hour? Is there something you would like to share with the rest of the class?"

_Uh-Oh. Here we go again._

The group of young assassins-in-training hunched down at the sound of their teacher's sarcastic voice. Nargil 'the Wyvern' Seres was one of the senior assassins as the Surthay Guild, and in charge of teaching the apprentices about various poisons, antidotes and other useful substances. He was a skinny old man with white hair and a long neck that he stretched forward in a way that made him resemble a vulture. His most famous accomplishment had been poisoning a former Tharchion with a letter pretending to offer him promotion. As the man read it over and over, giddy with delight, the deadly toxin seeped into his skin and he was dead before he had the time to phrase his reply. 'The Wyvern' was also infamous among the apprentices for having the nastiest temper and the most underdeveloped sense of humor of all their instructors. Nobody crossed him. Well, almost nobody. 

The apprentices were sitting two and two on low benches in the Guild lecture hall, and until this moment they'd all been quite occupied with taking notes, afraid of arousing their terrible instructor's wrath. Except for one of them, that was. 

With his most malicious smile 'the Wyvern' approached one of the benches, towering over the small boy sitting upon it, the one student seated by himself. He seemed to be nine or so, small for his age and rather pale. Wary black eyes met the teacher's without blinking. "Sir?" he said, his voice conveying that certain polite tone that borders on outright insolence. 

"Perhaps I ought to rephrase myself", the assassin said in a dangerous voice. "Are you pretending to know this subject better than I do?" There were plenty of nervous twitches among the class at this. 

"No sir." 

"Well, that's…"

"I don't need to pretend to. I do. Sir." The boy said this very calmly, sounding like he was explaining something extremely simple to a very slowwitted person. He ignored the teacher's rapidly purpling face as he started ticking items off on his fingertips in a manner calculated to annoy. "Firstly, blow frog toxin should only be gathered from live frogs, or it'll lose most of its potency. Secondly, the rare herb known as 'Dragonbreath' is blue in color, not purple. The one you described is a closely related one called 'Maiden's Kiss', and that one can be used for love potions." He paused. "It's completely useless for poisonings though, unless you want your target to fall in love with you. Thirdly, only an idiot would choose to believe in the protective properties of wearing a dried monkey paw around his neck in order not to succumb to arsenic poisoning."

"I own one of those", Nargil Seres said between clenched teeth. 

"Yes, sir. I know that, sir." The boy shrugged slightly before he continued. "All recent findings tell us that the so-called protection is a myth. Which is something anybody keeping up with current writings ought to know." The young Vadrak Dekaras gave his by now fuming teacher an innocently helpful look. "Those were just the errors made during today's lesson, sir. If you would like to go over the file I've made on your past mistakes, I keep it under my bed. I could always go and get it for you. Of course, I'd need somebody to help me, because by now it's far too heavy for me to carry on my own." 

There, the young Dekaras thought to himself. That ought to do it. But perhaps just one more thing… "Oh, and sir?" he asked 'the Wyvern', making note of the violently throbbing veins at the man's temples. They looked like they were about to burst at any moment. "Have you read our essays yet?"

Little flecks of foam escaped Seres' mouth as he replied. "I have", he said, his eyes murderous. "I was about to hand them back at the end of this class, actually. And I must say I didn't particularly care for your choice of a subject."

"Really, sir? But you did say to describe three possible ways of poisoning a well-known and difficult target. I described six."

"Yes. Six ways. To poison ME!"

"I'm sorry, sir. Does that mean that you don't consider yourself a difficult target? I'll try to remember that in the future."

"Now listen to me, you accursed little brat", the poisoner snarled as he grasped the boy by the arm and pulled him to his feet. "I've put up with your cheek for far too long. I'm of a mind to kill you myself in a most painful manner, and only Master Gorbia's interventions have kept me from beating you to within an inch of your life. But so help me, even one more smart remark and I will. Children should be seen, not heard. Now sit down, shut up, and pay attention to your betters!" The irate assassin picked up the coffee mug sitting on his desk as it always did, attempting to soothe his badly frayed nerves. He drank deeply from it, and then he choked, trying to cough the black liquid back up. In a few seconds he was on the floor, vomiting up what had once been his breakfast.

"Never would have taken you for a bacon man, sir", the black-eyed boy said as he gave the man an interested look. "I'm surprised." He smiled an angelic smile. "Oh, and sir? That was the seventh way of poisoning you, in case you didn't notice. Do I get some extra credit for that?" 

_Half an hour later…_

"And then what happened?" Master Gorbia, the head of the Surthay Assassin's Guild, asked with a weary sigh. He was starting to develop a fierce headache, a fairly common occurrence when trying to deal with the Guild's most gifted and most difficult apprentice. It felt like somebody was taking a hammer and chisel to his skull. 

The boy sitting on a chair in front of the Head Assassin shrugged and pointed at the large blue-black bruise marking his left cheek. "That happened." 

"I see. Given what I know of Master Seres, I'm surprised he didn't do worse. Don't you realize that that sort of provocation could have goaded him into beating you half to death?"

"He said something about doing that, sir." The child smirked slightly. "I guess he changed his mind."

_I'm almost afraid to ask._ "And just what was it that made him do that?"

The smirk widened and the boy's black eyes glittered with satisfaction. "Possibly the fact that I told him that if I should die, that file I mentioned, the one detailing all the holes in his so-called knowledge, would become public knowledge in the Guild. I told him that it wasn't really under my bed after all, but in a safe place where he'd never find it."

"And this was true?"

"Oh yes, sir." The boy pointed at his own forehead. "Got it in here. Safest place in the world for it, but of course he wouldn't know that, and he wouldn't want everybody to know what a fool he is."

Gorbia put his head in his hands. _I don't deserve this. I really don't. I'm just trying to run an effective Guild. Is that too much to ask for?_ "I see", he said in a hollow voice, raising his head. "And now, young Dekaras, perhaps you would like to explain just why you saw fit to provoke your teacher into wanting to kill you in the first place."

The child's face instantly turned guarded once more. "I was bored", he said. 

"Bored? That's it? You were bored?!" The Head Assassin rose from his desk and approached the young boy who suddenly seemed very interested in his own feet. "You did all of that because you were **bored**?"

"You don't know what it's like", the boy said, his voice unusually passionate. "He really is incompetent, you know. I already know more about poisons than he does. That’s one thing, I could live with that. But he won't let me move on, he won't let me read extra material or do anything else ahead of the class. I have to sneak into his quarters when he's not there and steal the stuff I need for experiments and the books I want to borrow." He blushed a little as he suddenly seemed to realize that he'd said to much. "And I would really appreciate it if you didn't mention that to him, sir."

_So that explains why Seres has been complaining about things going missing. And here I thought it was his age starting to show._ The Head Assassin couldn't help but feel impressed with the boy's dedication to his studies. Then he pounced upon the important issue. "He won't let you move ahead? Why?" 

The child was trying to keep a tight lid on his emotions, that much was obvious. His eyes were filled with dark anger though. "He wants us all to move at the same pace. He doesn't think anybody should be 'uppity' and allowed to read and learn faster than the others. But I can't help doing that. I just do. He says that it's not fair to the others if I'm quicker than them, but what am I supposed to do? Hit myself over the head to get as stupid as he is?" He clenched his fists tightly. "I want to become the best. And I will. He's not going to stop me and neither is anybody else." He shot the Head Assassin an openly defiant look.

_Bhaal's Bouncing Buttocks. Seres really is an idiot. He's got raw talent in front of him and he's doing his best to either suffocate it or turn it against him. Even now he doesn't realize that it could easily have been poison in that coffee mug. And he's turning a child who could pull that off against him. He'd better hope he's retired before this one comes of age._ "I see", Gorbia said in a neutral voice. "Well, I may not entirely approve of your attitude, and you will eventually come to realize that there are many things you can still learn. However, I do want you to become as skilled as you possibly can. That is our reason for educating you children in the first place, after all. I'll see to it that you don't have to attend Master Seres' classes anymore, and that you get supplied with some extra material. I'll check on your progress from time to time." 

The boy's eyes brightened. "You don't think that I should be held back?" he said. 

"No. I don't." Gorbia crossed his arms across his chest and gave the seated boy a sharp look. "However, there is also another matter I had planned to discuss with you. Your other instructors all tell me that you are very gifted, but that you isolate yourself. Why is that?"

"Sir?" The child's face remained motionless, but his voice betrayed a hint of surprise. "What do you mean?"

"Apparently you never seem to seek any contact with the other apprentices, and you discourage them from approaching you. You always sit alone in class. You always do your exercises alone. Basically, you're always alone. Can you tell me why that is?" 

The black eyes turned distant as if the boy had suddenly removed himself partly from the conversation. "Maybe I like being alone", he said. "Maybe it's because I like to avoid people asking stupid questions and bothering me all the time. Ever think of that, sir?"

_Don't lose control. Just don't. He's trying to manipulate you into losing your temper and distracting you from questioning him._ "That's as may be", the Head Assassin said. "Many assassins are lone wolves. But it's not healthy to shun the company of all others, not when you're still a child. It's not normal." The boy's cynical look made him pause. "All right, maybe our way of life isn't exactly commonplace to begin with. But I still know I'm right, and I'm not about to let this slide. Whatever your reasons, this isn't good for you, and I don't intend to let it continue indefinitely. Dismissed." _I'm not letting you slip through my fingers, young one_ , Gorbia thought as he watched the boy's retreating back. _It's a Master Assassin I intend for you to become, not an emotionless killing machine. I've got enough of those._ He paused as he suddenly remembered something. _Yes. Yes, that could work._ The guildmaster smiled to himself as he shut the door. _That boy is in for a surprise, I think…And serve him right for giving me a headache like this one._

An hour later the young Dekaras was sitting on his bed, legs crossed, and his head propped up in his hands, deep in thought. _Extra reading material will be good_ , the black-haired boy thought, frowning a little. _But I wonder what Master Gorbia meant about that other stuff. I don't like it. Wish he'd just leave me alone, the way everybody else does._ It was true too. It was like there was a thick sheet of glass between him and the other students, separating him from them. _And that's exactly the way I want it. Of course, it is. So why does it still bother me?_

He sighed a little. For one thing, he was operating on an entirely different level than the others. Their interests and the way they thought were quite different, almost as if they were speaking different languages. And then when he first got here, he **had** been speaking a different language. Even once he learned Thayvian he'd been feeling bad enough that he didn't really want to speak to anybody. Much easier to shut them out. And there was another thing too. Once or twice somebody had tried to approach him, but he'd turned them away. He'd trusted before, and he'd been betrayed. Somewhere deep down he knew that being forced to go through that again might be too much for him to live with. Making no friends was much better than losing them. _Trust is pain. Besides, I don't need anybody else but me. I'm doing just fine on my own. I know I am._ He sighed again. He was sure his reasoning was sound. Being alone your entire life, having no ties to anybody, that way you were free and independent, and nobody could hurt you. So why did his stomach hurt just thinking about it? It made no sense. 

He shook his head angrily and got off the bed. It was stupid worrying about things like this. It would get him nowhere. Much better to do something practical. Perhaps a little practice on lockpicking. That ought to take his mind off things, and he could use it. However, he never got that far. As he was passing through the gloomy hallways of the Guild he suddenly heard young voices raised in argument. 

In any large enough group of young people there will be at least one resembling Gord Artel. Usually big and strong, though not always. Mean as a rat trapped in a corner, and fond of hurting other, weaker children in order to get them to do what he wants, or sometimes just for fun. He won't necessarily be stupid, even if he often is. Favorite catchphrases usually include: 'You think you are somebody, don't you?', 'Give it here or you're dead', 'Because I said so' and 'Oh look, he's crying!'. In Gord's case, he was certainly both big and strong, and quite good at fighting. This skill he preferred to practice on his fellow apprentices, and many of them were terrorized enough that they obeyed his every whim. 

_Not that idiot again_ , the young Dekaras thought, fully intending to sneak past the open doorway the voices were coming from in order not to get noticed. _I still haven't figured out how he manages to walk and talk at the same time with his limited brain capacity. I'm sure he must be using potions to raise his intelligence above the level of a squashed ant in order to do that_. He'd clashed with Gord before, and the results had been violent, to say the least. The most memorable occasion had been when he first was enrolled with the Guild and Gord thought it might be fun to beat up the silent child who never spoke. What Gord hadn't counted on was a boy that much smaller than himself being able to fight that viciously. There had been broken bones on both sides, and thereafter a sort of armed truce that now and then was broken for a violent skirmish. 

"There's no way you can be an assassin!" Gord was saying, sounding very superior. "What would you be hired to kill? Mice? Bugs? They ought to be small enough for you. Right, you lot?" Nervous laugher from whomever he'd bullied into functioning as his courtiers this day. 

"I can too be an assassin!" a second voice protested. It sounded female, and rather piping and squeaky. "At least I won't be spotted from a mile away, unlike you, you big old troll!" 

Curious to see who might be either brave or foolhardy enough to challenge Gort this way, Dekaras slowed his steps and peeked inside the room. It was a more or less empty room, apart from the ropes hanging from the ceiling that could be used for climbing practice. Gord was in there, with a couple of younger apprentices, and then there was a girl. A small girl with a round and friendly face and bouncing brown locks, currently tied back with a bright red ribbon. She was wearing a bright red tunic too, and matching pants, making her resemble a cheerful strawberry. Perhaps even more interestingly, her bare feet were also covered with brown hair. _A halfling! Hm, I've never seen one of those up close._ The halfling girl had her hands planted on her hips and was glaring at Gord, obviously not the least bit intimidated by either him or the other two boys with him. "You just leave me alone, you meanie!" she stated. "Otherwise I'll make you sorry." 

Gord snickered. "Yeah?" he said. "You and what army? You'd better learn who calls the shots around here, little girl, or you'll be sorry. I may just decide to kill you if you're not nice to me. And in the meantime, I think you need to be taught a little lesson in respect." He pushed her in the chest, making her land on the floor with an angry squeal. 

"What, by you?" Dekaras said and stepped into the room, giving the other boy a contemptuous look. "Nobody respects **you**. Some fear you, some hate you, and some despise you. But nobody respects you. It's a bit hard to respect somebody who drools when he does what he calls 'thinking'."

"Oh yeah?" Gord shot back, his face an angry red. "And what about you, little freak?"

_Really, this is almost too easy. The idiot is leaving himself wide open, in more than one way._ "Me?" the black-haired boy said, feigning surprise. "Oh, I pity you. It must be really sad to be so stupid that you walk around with your pants open like that. By the way, it seems to me that you're the one who's 'little'." 

Gord's face went from red to white in an instant, and he reflexively looked down. Before he had the time to do more than realize that his pants were in fact closed, a healthy dose of purple powder hit him straight in the face. "Aaaagh!" the bully screamed. "It burns! It burns!" He was scratching himself furiously all over. 

"Well, it should. It is itching powder, after all. Made it myself. Thank you so much for volunteering to be a test subject." 

"I…I'll get you for this!" Gord screamed as he ran from the room. "You're so dead!" His two cronies followed him, eager to get as far away as possible. 

"Wow!" the halfling said as she got to her feet again. She was smiling brightly. "That was really clever." She held out a small hand. "I'm Poppy. Poppy Pandemonium. Well, that's not really my last name, but Ma would want me to take a fake one in order not to bring shame on the family. But when I get to be a famous assassin, I think I'm gonna call myself 'Poppy the Passionate. Or is Poppy the Perfect better? What's your name by the way?"

It was to Dekaras' credit that he somehow managed to introduce himself without laughing in the halfling's face. He had no particular wish to hurt her feelings, but she sounded so perfectly ridiculous. 

"Oh!" Poppy said, smiling even brighter than before. "Then you're the one I was sent to find!"

"Find?" Dekaras asked. He didn't much like the sound of that. 

"Oh yes. Master Gorbia sent me to tell you that you're to take care of me." Poppy nodded to herself, making her curls bounce wildly. "Yes. That's what he said. Since I'm new he said I needed somebody to show me around, teach me where everything is, how stuff works and so on." She clapped her hands together. "This will be such fun! I bet we're going to be great friends! Maybe even Best Friends! I think you need a shorter name though, something nice and easy. I know! I'll call you Dekkie, how's that? Don't you just love it? I can tell that you do!"

The young Dekaras found himself reeling mentally under this cheerful onslaught. He didn't suppose he had much choice about doing the Guild Master's bidding, but he didn't see that he had to stand for this. "No, I don't!" he protested. "I think it sounds ludicrous, so you can just forget about it. And I'll do what Master Gorbia asks, but after that I want you to leave me alone."

"Aw, don't be like that." Poppy reached up to pat him on the shoulder, making the boy grateful that she, unlike most of the other apprentices, at least wasn't taller than he was. That would have been more than he could stand. "And I think it sounds really cute."

"CUTE?!"

"Uh-huh. Really cute."

"But…but I don't want to sound cute!"

"Sure you do, Dekkie", Poppy said, grasping him by the arm and dragging him out the door. "You are cute, you ought to sound it too. Now come on, I want to have some fun!"

Three hours later Dekaras was rapidly coming to the conclusion that Poppy's preferred future method of assassination was going to be talking her victims to death. He was certainly starting to long for death himself. He'd shown the halfling girl around all the parts of the Guild where they were allowed to go, and some where they weren't, in order to keep things more interesting. The latter included the menagerie, where poisonous animals of many different kinds were bred and raised to provide a steady supply of various lethal toxins. Poppy had been particularly impressed with a bright green treefrog, declaring it to be 'really, really cute', and he'd had to forcibly yank her back before she could pick it up. By now he was starting to feel like the world was spinning rapidly beneath his feet, and all he wanted to do was to ask it to please stop and let him get off. 

It wasn't that Poppy wasn't likable, because she was. In fact it was very hard not to like her, even if all that exuberant cheerfulness was starting to give him a headache. But she kept chattering at him, and she didn't even seem to have to stop to breathe. Worse, she didn't give in until she'd made him respond, so he couldn't even retreat into silence. Bullies were far easier to handle. He didn't fear getting into fights. But he didn't know how to cope with all that…that niceness. _And I don't want company. I really don't._

The two children were sitting on the roof of the Guild, watching the teeming city of Surthay beneath them. The view was really good up here, and they'd found themselves a comfortable platform. The young Dekaras secretly admitted to himself that maybe, just maybe, he'd come up here in the hopes that the halfling wouldn't be able to follow and that he'd be rid of her at last. However, she had turned out to be an able climber, if not quite as good as he was, and there had been no escaping her. Right now Poppy was yanking hard at his sleeve in order to get his attention. 

"….don't you think so too, Dekkie?" the halfling was saying, her cheeks flushed and her brown eyes twinkling merrily. 

"Think what?" the boy asked, inwardly wincing at the unwanted nickname. After having protested against it about a hundred times with no result, his resistance was beginning to wear down, much as he hated to admit it. 

"That it's been a wonderful day of course, you silly! I think I'm going to like it here, and I think you'll make a great Best Friend!"

_Best Friend? Oh no. Now what?_ "Look", Dekaras said, picking his words carefully. After all he didn't really want to hurt the girl's feelings, just to make her stop bothering him. "This has nothing to do with you, so please don't take it the wrong way. I'm sure you're very nice. It's just that I really prefer to be alone and I'm not the sort of person you want to be friends with anyway. Ask any of the other apprentices, they'll tell you. They all think I'm a complete freak. Besides, I don't need any friends. I'm better off on my own. I don't want a Best Friend."

Poppy looked at him for a moment, her eyes unusually solemn. "I see what you mean", she said. 

"Good. I'm glad you…" Then the apprentice assassin gave a highly undignified yelp as the halfling suddenly poked him hard enough in the chest to make him fall flat on his back. Then she sat on him. 

"I see what you mean, Dekkie", Poppy said, smiling once again as she addressed the stunned boy. "And just so you know, you're being very silly about this. I don't care what the others think. I don't think you're a freak, I like you and I'll have you for my friend no matter what anybody else says."

"Including me?"

"Especially you. You don't seem to get this, but everybody needs friends in order not to go off their rocker, you included. You'll see, I bet you'll get to like it. We can play lots of games together, and if you want, I can teach you how to bake cookies. My Ma taught me, I'm really good at it. Oh, and if you're nice I'll maybe sing you a little song. I know lots of songs."

_Oh joy. I can't wait._

The girl faltered a little, and she started fiddling anxiously with her red ribbon. "Unless…unless you **really** don't like me of course. In that case I guess I'll leave you alone. Is that it?" Her eyes went very large and suspiciously shiny. 

The boy stared into that worried little face hovering above him, feeling his resolve crumble to pieces. It would be so easy. All he had to do was tell her that he hated her and never wanted to see her again. Then she'd go away and leave him alone, just as he wanted. He'd be safe again, with no threat of betrayal, no fear of getting abandoned once again. But…he couldn't do it. He simply couldn't bear the thought of making her cry. "I…I don't dislike you", he muttered reluctantly, feeling very embarrassed. "Even if you are annoying. It's just that…"

And then he was suddenly being half choked to death by an exuberant halfling who was hugging him tightly. "I knew it!" Poppy crowed, bouncing up and down. "I knew you were nice! You won't regret this Dekkie, I promise. We're going to be the best friends ever!"

"If we're supposed to be such great friends, not that I ever agreed to that, could you please stop calling me that?"

Poppy grinned widely. "Nope", she said. "It suits you, and I like it. I'm sticking with it. Anything else I can do to make you happy?"

"Yes. If you're going to keep on bouncing like that, I'd really appreciate it if you'd do me the favor of getting off my stomach first. Unless you want me to throw up all over you." 

_The following morning…_

Poppy had a plan. A good plan, a great plan, an excellent plan, or so she thought. The tiny halfling girl crept through the Assassin's Guild, her bare feet making no sound whatsoever against the floor. The problem lay in trying to suppress her giggles as she sneaked into the room she wanted. Her new Best Friend was still asleep, not surprising since it was barely dawn. He was tightly wrapped up in his blankets, mostly invisible apart from some black hair sticking out under them. He was lying very still, hardly even breathing. Poppy carefully approached. This was going to be a wonderful prank, yanking his bedclothes off to wake him up. Her fingers moved ever so cautiously. They grasped the blankets. They started to move…

"Yipe!" Poppy squealed as she flew through the air and landed on the floor. Her Best Friend was crouching in the bed, staring wildly about him as he tried to figure out where he was. Moreover, it seemed that he was in the habit of sleeping with a dagger beneath his mattress, and in his semi-awake state she wasn't sure he wouldn't try to hit her with it. "Hi Dekkie!" the halfling said in her most cheerful voice. "Sleep well?" 

The boy simply stared blankly at her for a moment before he slid the dagger back into its proper place. "Oh", he said. "It's you." He didn't sound very enthusiastic. 

"Yup! The sun's almost up now, I thought I'd come and wake you up so we can play." 

Her Best Friend had crawled back into bed by now, his movements unusually sluggish, and he'd drawn the blankets over his head completely. "I'm dead", he muttered. "I'm dead, and this is the Abyss. Has to be. And there's an extremely small demon torturing me." 

"Aw, don't be like that. Don't you want to play?" 

"Before dawn?" came the acidic response. "I don't think so. Just so you know, I'm not a morning person. Go away, why don't you? I already showed you around the Guild yesterday, can't you leave it at that?"

"I bet I can cheer you up. I'll sing you a little song, how's that?" The halfling cleared her throat. 'Oh a bath is nice, and a bed is good, but better yet is lovely food…' She was cut off as a hand gripped her collar and a pair of black eyes, currently somewhat bloodshot, stared murderously into hers. 

"Poppy", her Best Friend said in a deceptively calm voice. "I don't want to be cheered up, and I don't want to listen to any songs. I want one thing, and one thing only. The same thing I always want before dawn. TO SLEEP! Now leave me alone before I lose my temper and do something we'll both regret." He paused as he thought about this. "Or at least something you'll regret. I'm not that sure about me." 

Poppy was a little taken aback at this, but she rapidly bounced back. "Oh, all right, Dekkie", she said. "We'll save the song for later. I know you'll love it then."

"Poppy…"

"But I don't want to go all the way back to my room. Can't I stay here? Pleeeeeease? I'm really small, you'll hardly notice me."

The boy sighed, muttering something that sounded suspiciously like 'Mosquitoes are small, but they're still annoying.' Then he shook his head. "Oh all right", he said. "If that's the only way to make you shut up. But you'd better keep quiet or I'll throw you out on your ears. And don't even think about hogging the covers." He curled up in bed again, turning his back on her, and the halfling rapidly followed suit, bouncing into bed with a happy grin. So far everything was going just fine. 

Poppy had thought she'd be able to fall asleep quickly. Though she was notoriously chirpy first thing in the morning, she was usually able to go to sleep again if she really wanted to. Not today though. This had to do with the way her new friend slept, if slept it could be called. 

The boy tossed and turned restlessly, apparently caught in some unpleasant dream. He didn't weep, and he didn't cry out, but occasionally he whispered quietly to himself. "No…", he moaned in an almost inaudible voice. "Please don't. Please…" He sounded heart-wrenchingly miserable. "Please…just leave me alone. I'll be good, I promise…"

The good-natured halfling felt tears rising in her eyes as she listened to this mental anguish. Unthinkingly she reached out to touch her friend's shoulder, but as she did, she was appalled to see him unconsciously flinch at her touch. He was as suspicious and skittish as an abused dog, even in sleep. Who did this to him? the girl wondered, wiping at her eyes. And what did they do? And then she felt a deep chill in the pit of her stomach as the boy spoke again. 

"Mother?" he said. "Father? Please don't let them do this. Please don't. It's so cold, and it hurts so bad…please don't go! Don't leave me here, don't let them hurt me!" His entire body shuddered violently and silently. For an instant Poppy thought he was crying, but as she looked closer, she could see that his cheeks were dry. Just that terrible shaking. "Mother?" he whispered again, sounding much younger than he did when awake. 

Then the halfling had an idea, and she acted immediately, her only thought to ease the pain in front of her. "Yes", she said. "It's me, it's Mother. Everything's all right now. I won't let anybody hurt you." For a moment she worried that she might have made a bad mistake, but then she was relieved to see the shaking subside, then stop altogether. As she cradled her new friend's head in her lap, stroking his hair, she took great pleasure in seeing his features relax into peaceful sleep, the nightmare slowly fading away. She sat like that for a long while before she finally fell asleep herself.


	2. Chapter 2

The sun was already high in the sky when the young Dekaras awoke for the second time, and as he did, he got the strongest impression that something was wrong. For one thing, he was feeling rested, far more so than usual. He couldn't remember the last time he'd slept this heavily. Probably it had been sometime before. But that wasn't all there was. There was something heavy and warm crushing his left arm, making it quite numb. Slowly he opened his eyes and tried to make sense of what he was seeing. _There's a halfling in my bed. And she's nicked my pillow too._ Poppy was lying on her back, snoring quietly. Now and then she giggled in her sleep. As he tried to pull his arm free from under her she came awake with a start. 

"Good morning, Dekkie!" the halfling said as she sat up in bed, her brown locks a tousled mess. "Feeling all better now? Have a nice sleep?"

The boy paused to consider this. "I guess", he said warily. "Or as good as it gets with somebody squashing your extremities. And I thought I already told you not to call me that."

"Sure you did, Dekkie. So, what are we gonna do now? I know! I can sing you that song I promised you earlier. Or another one, if you want. _Oh, it's such a jolly good morning, oh it's a splendiferous day! The sun's shining brightly this morning, and good things are coming my…_ "

"No! No, no, no! No singing! I can't take that, especially when I'm only just awake. And especially not disgustingly jolly and bouncy songs like that one." 

Poppy pouted for a moment, but then her face brightened again as she bounced out of the bed. "Have it your way, Dekkie", she said. "Come on now, I want us to have some fun!" 

"Fun?"

"Yeah, you know. What you do when you're having a good time, laughing, playing around, that sort of thing." 

"I know what it means. What do you think I am, stupid?"

"Nope, I just think you've forgotten how to do it. But that's all right, I'll help you. That's what Best Friends are for, after all." 

Dekaras sighed to himself. It was going to be a long day. A very long day. _Perhaps I can manage to lose her somewhere. Preferably down a deep well_. 

The two children made their way into the Guild Hall proper, intending to see if anything interesting was happening. This was their day off, with no lessons or instructions planned. "So, what do you usually do when you're free?" Poppy asked, looking with great interest at a pair of adult assassins having a dart contest. 

"Same as any other day. Study, practice. Spar a little, sometimes." 

The halfling shook her head with a wondering look. "Dekkie, Dekkie, Dekkie", she said. "We really need to get you to loosen up a bit. All that hard work can't be good for you."

"I don't want to get 'loosened up'. And I'll work as hard as I want to. It's what I want to do."

"Only because you don't know what you're missing. But don't you worry one bit, I won't let you miss out on having fun and playing in the future. I promise." 

The black-eyed boy was just about to make a rather pointed response to this when he felt a prickling sensation at the base of his neck. Somebody was watching them. As he turned around, he was very surprised to see the Guild Master himself standing right behind them, looking highly amused. "Good morning, children", Gorbia said. "I'm so glad I ran across you. I've already seen all the other apprentices, you two are the only ones left." 

"Left, sir?" Dekaras asked, a bit puzzled by this. The Guild Master usually didn't take a personal interest in the activities of the apprentices. 

"Yes indeed. I'm setting up sort of an examination for you all, a way of measuring whether you have reached the level you ought to be at by now." He smiled an ominous smile. "It will be a practical challenge. You will be required to seek out a simulated target, develop a plan for gaining access to that target, and then perform a mock assassination. The latter will entail planting a certain object on the target's person without them noticing." He smiled again. "It will be extremely difficult, but as I recall you did say that you wanted a challenge."

"What targets would these be, sir?" the boy asked, looking very interested at the thought of a challenge. 

"Who else but the most difficult targets of all, your future colleagues? Your teachers will participate as targets." He paused. "Oh, and before I forget. You will be working in pairs for this assignment." 

The boy frowned. "Do we have to, sir? You know I prefer to work alone. And I'm sure I could pull if off." 

"Perhaps, perhaps not. That is beside the point. Part of the point of the exercise is to train you in how to cooperate on an assignment. It is an important skill. I'm sure you and young Poppy will do just fine." The Head Assassin smiled benignly and tousled the brown locks of the tiny halfling. "Have fun now. Your assigned target is Master Seres, the Poisoner. You have one week to plant this on his person…" After handing Poppy a small parcel, he walked off, chuckling quietly to himself. 

"Ooooh, this is gonna be fun!" Poppy beamed. 

_Fun_ , Dekaras thought, _isn't exactly the word I would have used. I'll be lucky if she doesn't talk me to death before we even have the time to make a plan. I really wish she wasn't so…so nice. For an annoying pest, that is. Makes it very difficult to resist her. Not that I can't. Of course I can. And I have to. I can't afford to…to let her get closer. Not that I want to._

"Is Master Seres the nasty old fellow who looks like a vulture?" Poppy asked an hour or so later. The two children had retreated to the roof again in order to plan their assignment without getting disturbed. 

"That's the one", Dekaras said with a slight smirk. "I take it you've met him?"

The halfling snorted. "Yeah, yesterday when I arrived. He said I was **small**!" She sounded incredibly indignant. 

"Well, you are a bit on the small side", the boy ventured, being very careful to keep his face straight. 

"I know that! It wasn't what he said, it was the way he said it. Like I was just some disgusting little bug he was about to step on." Poppy scowled in a failed attempt to look fierce and dangerous. "Huh, he thinks I can't be an assassin just because I'm a halfling. He said as much. But I'll show him."

"Why do you want to be an assassin anyway? No offence, it's just not very common among halflings, is it?"

Poppy shrugged and started tossing broken roof tiles over the edge, grinning with satisfaction at each loud crash. "I know", she said. "But my Da was friends with one, they got to know each other while they were adventuring together. The Viper, he was called. The assassin I mean, not my Da." Her smile turned a little wistful. "Ma never liked him, but I thought he was great. He could get into any place. Made me want to be just like him."

"The Viper? I've heard of him; he was really famous." The boy's black eyes were glittering with excitement by now. "He even assassinated a lich once. Tricked it into drinking holy water, it's said. Come on, you have to tell me. What was he really like?"

"Very nice", Poppy said. "He used to play hide-and-seek with me when he came to visit, that was great fun. He could hide anywhere, even right beneath your nose, and you still wouldn't spot him. And he knew tons of exciting stories too." The halfling suddenly looked more serious than before. "I ran away from home in order to go here, you know. So I could become like the Viper. I think Pa wouldn't have minded, but Ma would have flipped if I'd told her. Don't know what she'll do to me if I ever go home again."

That remark struck a chord deep within the boy. _So, she's a runaway too…_ True, she'd had more of a choice about it than he'd had, but there was still a resemblance. _Somehow, I don't really think she knows what it means to be an assassin though. She thinks it's all fun and games. I don't think she's ever killed anybody. It's going to be hard on her when she has to deal with that._ "I'm sorry", he simply said, not knowing if he meant about his companion's lost parents or about what she was about to lose. 

"Thanks, Dekkie", the halfling said with that beaming smile that made him want to squirm uncomfortably since he wasn't sure how to react to it. It made him feel all sorts of things that he'd tried his best to bury for quite some time. "Appreciate it. But I'll be fine. I'm here now, and I won't let that stupid old vulture Seres keep me away. And I've got you for a new Best Friend, which is even better! So, why do you want to be an assassin then?"

The boy stiffened a little at this seemingly innocent question, and though he answered readily enough his voice turned distant. "It…wasn't what I wanted from the start", he slowly replied. "But it's something I can be really good at, I know that much by now. And I **need** to be good at something, to be really skilled and useful. So I can feel proud of myself. I…I always needed that…" He paused, and when next he spoke, he sounded very determined. "You know, one day, when I'm a grownup, I'm going to be the very best. That's the best way to stay really free. I won't need anybody to help me, and if anybody comes after me and tries to hurt me, I'll just kill them." The last he said in a chillingly matter-of-fact voice, all the more horrible as it emanated from the lips of a child. _What am I doing?_ he thought. _Why am I telling her all of this? I never talk to anybody about these things. It's far too dangerous._

"You'll still need friends you can trust though", Poppy said.

"No. Not me. Trust is death, I've learnt that." _Friends or family, what does it matter? If you let people get too close, then you hand them the power to hurt you. I let that happen once, I won't let it happen again. Never._

Poppy shook her head, a sad look in her eyes. "You really have a problem, Dekkie, you know that? But I still like you, don't worry. I don't scare that easily. Hm, I wonder what happened to make you think like that? Wanna tell me? It'll feel better afterwards, I'm sure." She blithely ignored the deadly look in her companion's eyes and kept smiling innocently. 

"That's none of your business, and I don't want to talk about it. Now, can we please get down to business before I start growing moss or something?"

"Sure thing, Dekkie", the halfling readily agreed. She'd abandoned throwing roof-tiles by now and was occupying herself with braiding her brown hair into a snake's nest of tiny braids. "But I'm not giving up. Sooner or later, I will find out." She laughed. "I'm older than you, you should do as I say." 

"There is no way you can be older than I am. I don't believe you. And stop calling me that!"

"Sure I'm older than you are, Dekkie. I'm almost twenty, see, so I've lived about twice as long as you, actually. That ought to make me twice as smart too, don't you think?"

"Ha! Halflings age more slowly than humans, so you're really just a child, same as me, even if you have lived longer. Not that I'd care either way." The last was stated with a triumphant look. 

"Well, all right", Poppy admitted. "I was only teasing." Then she gave him a cheerful wink. "Worried you for a bit though, didn't I?"

While several of the junior assassins and all the apprentices maintained quarters at the Guild, most of the Masters had private homes, and if they were successful enough, estates. Master Seres was no exception. He spent his private time in a guarded compound on the outskirts of the city, far enough east that it was away from the worst stench of the Surmarsh. Of course, this meant little. The proximity of the great swamp ensured that a powerful rotting stench hung over the city, at least during the summer months. The estate in itself was strong and fortified. Seres had made enough enemies that he wanted to take all possible safety precautions. Dekaras had done his best to research them during the time he'd spent writing that essay on how to poison the Poisoner, but he was fairly certain Seres had updated them since them. Ignorant of recent research the man might be, but he wasn't that great a fool. 

"There'll be traps of course", the boy explained to his companion. "And I know for certain he keeps some really vicious dogs out in the garden."

"I rather like dogs", Poppy said.

"Not these dogs, you don't. They're called Biter, Gnasher and Fluffy. Fluffy's the worst one of the lot. He once tore out a man's heart, or so it's said."

Poppy shuddered. "That's awful", she said. "Did he eat it?"

"I don't know. Nobody I asked would tell me. I think it may have been more than just the heart he tore off and ate."

Poppy considered this. For a subject to nauseate a group of hardened assassins it had to be really disgusting. "I guess we're both better off not knowing", she said. "What else is there?"

"Guards", her friend told her. "Big, strong, eunuch guards, I've heard. They patrol the entire estate, and they're under orders to kill anybody who tries to get in uninvited."

"Oh" the halfling said, nodding. Then she paused. "What's a eunuch?"

The boy's face took on a slightly superior expression. "Don't you know **anything**?" he asked. "Everybody knows that."

"Well, what is it then?"

"It's…it's a sort of special soldier, I think, only much fiercer. They're supposed to be bald too. And they often work as harem guards."

"Oh", Poppy said and nodded again. Then her face turned puzzled. "What's a harem?" 

Dekaras paused. To tell the truth, he didn't know much more about harems than he did about eunuchs. Not that he was about to admit either fact. "It's…a place where a lot of ladies live", he explained.

"That's silly. There lived lots of ladies in my home village, and I never saw any big old bald soldiers there." 

"Well, obviously not. Harems seem to be mostly a Calimshite thing, from what I've read. And anyway, I think you need to have see-through pants to be a harem lady."

Poppy looked at her own short, sturdy legs, sensible covered by a pair of brown leather pants. "That's silly", she declared. "Why would anybody want that?"

The boy shrugged. "It's the sort of thing grown-ups like, I guess. Really stupid if you ask me. Anyway, let's hope Master Seres doesn't go in for see-through pants when he's at home. I don't know if I could take being forced to see that. I prefer to keep my stomach on the inside of my body."

The two apprentice assassins set out for the Poisoner's abode the following evening as darkness began to fall. They were both carrying a small backpack, stuffed with the various supplies they thought they might need, along with Master Gorbia's mysterious package. From what they'd been able to learn it would supposedly activate an enchantment once it made contact with their target's person, thus alerting the Guildmaster to their success. Assuming they ever made it that far of course. They'd brought lockpicks and tools for disarming traps, some rope and oil for oiling door-hinges, as well as some other odds and ends. Dekaras had brought a couple of simple healing potions as well, and some common antidotes.

"Where did you get all of those?" Poppy asked interestedly. The halfling had fitted herself out with a large sling and a big bag of pebbles, claiming that it was traditional halfling weaponry and that she could knock a hole through a brick wall with it if she really wanted. The young Dekaras sort of doubted that, but he saw no reason to start an argument. 

"Made some", he said, shrugging. "Stole the others." 

"Stole? Who from?"

The black-eyed boy jerked his head in the direction of the forbidding compound down the street. "Guess."

"Oooh!" Poppy exclaimed. "Bet that must have made him mad…"

"I'm sure it did. He couldn't prove it was me though. Shall we?"

The wall around the compound turned out to be a formidable obstacle. Not only was it tall and smooth, with no obvious footholds, there was a thorny hedge planted on top of it. "Adder Sting bushes", the young Dekaras remarked. "They're very poisonous. Figures." 

"Then how are we going to get past them without getting poisoned?"

"We aren't. Or to put it more accurately, **I'm** not."

Poppy frowned, looking puzzled. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"You'll see. Just let me go first and I'll show you. I'm sure it'll work." _And if I've miscalculated and it doesn't, at least I'll be the only one to get hurt. Maybe I want to get rid of her, but I don't want her to die or anything. Much better that I handle this one alone._ The boy didn't wait for a reply but hauled out a thin rope with an attached grapnel-hook from his backpack. It took him a couple of swings to get it right, but eventually the hook caught and stuck. He proceeded to make use of the rope and swiftly scurried up the wall. Climbing had always been one of his best subjects, he hardly ever needed to make an effort. It wasn't long before he reached the top. _And now for the nasty part._ He clenched his teeth together, clinging to the edge of the wall with one arm as he used the other to pull free the knife hanging at his belt. _Better not fall. This wall is high enough that they'd have to use a sponge to wipe me up for burial. Assuming anybody did bother to bury me in the first place._

Eventually he did manage to retrieve the knife. Carefully, oh so carefully, he started swiping at the wicked thorns, cutting away at the branches. It wasn't the thing an assassin was supposed to use a blade for, but he didn't really care about that as long as it worked. And it did, already a sort of narrow tunnel was forming through the thorny hedge. He allowed himself to relax just a little bit, and this proved to be an unfortunate mistake. One of the thorns caught his hand, tearing the skin. The pain was sharp and searing, and he could feel the poison start to spread through his bloodstream, hot and pulsing. It hurt really bad, and though instinct kept him from crying out he couldn't quite keep down a muffled gasp of pain, even though he'd known it was likely this would happen. There were simply too many thorns for him to be able to avoid them all. Down on the ground he thought he could hear Poppy call out to him. She sounded rather upset. _Can't stop now. Have to go on._ He was half-way through the hedge already. He had to make it all the way. Then there would be time enough to worry about himself. 

_This poison takes about five minutes to kill somebody. I can make it in time. I know I can._ Shift the knife to the left hand. Almost as good with that one, if not quite. Lift. Cut. Again. And again. Don't think about how much time has passed already. The pain was present, but he'd known worse. Surely, he could ignore it if he had to. And then it was done, the tunnel completed. There were black flecks swimming in front of his eyes now, and his right arm was a burning fire of agony. Mustn't scream. Mustn't let anybody hear us. He couldn't quite hold back a half-choked whimper though. The blackness was growing thicker. _Can't pass out. If I do, I'm dead. I can't let myself get killed by a hedge, can I? That would be too humiliating._

And then his questing fingers found the pocket he was searching for, touched cool glass. Lucky he'd put this particular bottle in there and not in the potion case. Fighting to keep on breathing he somehow managed to unscrew the cork, then tipped the contents into his mouth. Cool and soothing it was, like pure water tasting faintly of mint. The coolness spread, quenching the poisonous fire burning in his blood. In a minute or so his breathing calmed, as did his heartbeat. He blinked, relieved to be able to see clearly again. It looked like he was going to live after all. And then he became aware of sound as well. Poppy's voice, down there on the ground, frantically calling out his name again and again. _What's wrong with her? She didn't get in trouble, did she?_

Poppy, in the meantime, had been going through some of the most nerve-wracking minutes of her young life. She'd seen her Best Friend affected by the poison, powerless to do anything to help. And then he'd disappeared from sight, going deeper into the hedge and she'd almost felt her heart stop, certain that he was going to die. _He can't die! He's my Best Friend! He mustn't!_ A few more, eternally long minutes of agony later, she finally saw his head peer over the edge of the wall. He was looking rather pale and ill, but at least he was alive and didn't look like he was about to immediately keel over dead. "You were shouting", he said. "Are you all right?"

"Am I all right?" Poppy shouted at the top of her lungs. "Am **I** all right?! You…you stupid, foolish…HUMAN!"

Her Best Friend grimaced slightly and then dangled the rope at her. "Please don't shout", he said. "You'll wake the whole neighborhood, and besides I already have a headache from that poison. Just come on - if you still want to go through with this." 

Poppy gritted her teeth and climbed the rope. When she reached the top, she could see that a path had been cleared through the hedge, leaving plenty of room for them to go through. Her Best Friend was kicking aside some stray branches, looking very pleased with himself. "There", he said. "That should be enough." And then he suddenly looked extremely surprised at the sight of an irate halfling grasping his tunic and shaking him violently enough to make his teeth rattle. 

"Are you out of your **mind**?" Poppy scolded. "What were you thinking? Do you have a death wish or something? You could have got yourself killed!" 

The boy twisted free and crossed his arms across his chest, his face taking on an extremely haughty expression as his black eyes turned cold. "I knew exactly what I was doing, thank you very much", he said. "I had everything under control."

"Oh yeah? Getting fatally poisoned was all part of your Master Plan, was it? I stand in awe of your genius, really I do."

"I did have some venom antidote with me, you know. Just enough for one dose, that's why I had to finish the tunnel before I dared take it. But I had it all timed."

"Uh-huh. And suppose you'd fainted from the poison before you could take it? Or fallen off the wall? Or impaled yourself on the bushes? Never thought of that, did you, Mr Super Assassin?" Poppy stared her Best Friend straight in the eyes, her hands on her hips. "I suppose you never thought of telling me what you were up to either? If you had, I could have backed you up. I could have made sure you got the antidote into you even if you were too weakened to take it yourself. I might even have kept watch for you, so you didn't get hurt in the first place." 

The boy suddenly looked just that little bit less sure of himself. "I…I didn't think…"

"No, that's exactly it. You didn't think. Or rather, you thought the wrong way." Poppy's voice softened as she went on, and she put a companionable arm around her Best Friend's waist. He didn't exactly respond, but at least this time he didn't try to get away from her. That was something. "You can't expect to handle everything on your own, Dekkie. Everybody needs help from others sometimes. You too, no matter how good you are. Just like everybody needs at least one friend." She grinned faintly. "Besides, you had me worried sick. That's not a very nice thing to do. I do happen to care about you, you know." 

For a moment she worried that she might have gone too far, since her friend only looked at her blankly for a moment. Then a strangely vulnerable expression flitted across his face, there and gone in a second, and when he gave her a small smile it looked almost shy. "Well", he said. "I suppose that proves your abysmally bad judgment…but…thank you. I…appreciate that. Really. I'm sorry if I frightened you." 

"That's all right, Dekkie", the halfling said with a broad smile. "I forgive you. Once we're done here, I promise you I'll sing you that song I mentioned earlier, just to prove it." 

Once the two children passed through the hedge, they found themselves looking down upon a dark and silent garden. There were plenty of trees and bushes about that should provide them with ample cover. Of course, that also meant that others could be lurking down there as well. In fact, as they moved closer to the edge of the wall, three dark shadows suddenly emerged from the bushes below, loping silently towards the wall. "The dogs!" Poppy gasped. And so it were. Three huge animals, as big as small ponies, with massive heads and powerful jaws, filled with a large number of teeth. They didn't bark. These dogs weren't primarily trained to alert the human members of the household. They were trained to kill all intruders, and now they threw themselves at the wall, leaping again and again, trying to catch the interlopers and drag them down. 

Fortunately, the two apprentice assassins had prepared themselves for this. Trying to bribe the dogs with food wouldn't work, they were well known to be trained against that. There was one other thing that might appeal to them though. Two wooden logs landed on the ground, and each of those was wrapped in a leather bag that had been thoroughly impregnated by the irresistible smell of a bitch in heat. The three dogs whined, drooling quietly for a second or two. Then they threw themselves at the bags, eager to get at the wonderful smell. However, since there were three dogs and only two logs, a series of nasty little fights soon broke out. Two of the dogs would be preoccupied with trying to kill each other while the third worried contentedly at his prize, and then the constellations would shift. Meanwhile, the children slipped quietly down the wall and past the dogs, heading deeper into the garden.


	3. Chapter 3

Once they had safely bypassed all the three dogs, including the terrible Fluffy who by now was whining quite pitifully, the two children paused to catch their breath a little. They crouched behind a cluster of large rhododendrons in full flower, beneath blooms of purple and pink, white and red. Poppy couldn't resist the temptation to pick a few of the purple ones and braid them into her hair. Her companion rolled his eyes at this, but he made no comment. The important thing about the bushes was that they had really large leaves, and so provided plenty of convenient shadows. "Let's take a closer look at that package Master Gorbia wants us to plant", Dekaras said in a low voice. "I want to know what's inside."

"Do you really think we should?" Poppy asked, sounding a little nervous. "I'm sure we're not meant to."

"Poppy, we're supposed to become assassins. How is that ever going to happen if we follow every single little tedious rule just because a teacher made it up? Now give it here and don't worry. If we get in trouble, I'll say I made you do it."

The package contained a rock, about the size of Poppy's fist, very smooth and glowing a faint blue. "I suppose that would be the location spell", Dekaras said as he turned the rock over in his hand, his face intensely concentrated. "But…there seems to be another spell beneath that one, and I can't tell what that is."

"Are you sure?" Poppy asked, her eyes round and impressed. "How do you know? You're not a wizard, are you?"

The boy sighed. He didn't meet her eyes as he replied, and as he did answer his voice was flat and void of all emotion. "No, Poppy. I'm not. But I do know about these things, and I have a certain…sensitivity, I suppose you might call it. I can often feel when there's magic nearby." He handed the rock back to the halfling. "Here, you keep it." 

"You can have it if you want, Dekkie."

"No. No, I don't think so. I could get distracted, and that could get us both in trouble. Anyway, I think we'd better get going. We still need to get inside the house and find Master Seres."

Getting inside the house turned out to be easier said than done, actually. The front door was out of the question of course. They knew it would be sure to be heavily trapped, and probably guarded as well. The servants' entrance and the cellar entrance looked equally unpromising. "How about the chimney?" Poppy asked. "Or a window?"

"Not the chimney if we can help it. We could get stuck, and there's the risk of somebody lighting a fire. But a window…yes, that's a good idea, except they're probably trapped as well. At least the ones I've checked so far have been." The boy paused, tapping his finger thoughtfully against his lower lip, his black eyes focused on some inner vision. "Unless…yes. I've got an idea." He pointed at a certain window. The very topmost window of the entire house, in fact, a small one that most probably belonged to the attic. No adult could possibly have hoped to fit through it. "That one." 

"Th-that one?" Poppy gasped.

"Yes. That one's too small for any grown-up assassin to fit through, so it won't be trapped. But we can get inside without a problem."

"Without a problem?!" Poppy was quite white in the face by now, and she inadvertently raised her voice into a cross between a whisper and a shriek. "Dekkie, that's the fourth floor! Don't you think there could maybe be another reason for that window not to be trapped? The wall is smooth, there's nothing to hold onto. How are we ever supposed to get up there?"

Once the boy had explained his plan, she didn't seem noticeably calmer. "Do you really think this will work?"

"No, I don't think it will work. I know it will." _And then we'll beat 'the Wyvern' at his own game, for all the Guild to know. They'll admire us, and envy us and…_ Then he noticed the halfling's tense little face. _She's…she's really worried, isn't she? She shouldn't do this. Not if she doesn't want to._ "You know", he said seriously, "you don't have to come along. Not if you don't want to. I can manage on my own."

"Oh yeah?" Poppy snorted, her worry instantly replaced by fierceness. "Like you 'managed' those poison thorns? Face it Dekkie. You need me, and I'm coming with you whether you like it or not, if only to keep you from breaking your neck!" 

"But…I can tell it bothers you. You really don't have to…"

"Oh yes I do! Because I'm your Best Friend, silly, and that's the sort of thing Best Friends do." The halfling was glaring at him by now, her cheeks red and her face very determined. 

_She really means it_ , the boy realized. _She really does care…_ The thought was intensely frightening, but at the same time exhilarating, and he had no idea how to react to the emotions suddenly welling up inside him. In the end he decided to react as little as possible, at least outwardly. Perhaps if he didn't think too much about it the feelings would pass, and he would be himself again. One could always hope. _I don't need or want friends, after all. Do I?_ "Come then", he said with a faint smile, pointing at the enormous oak that reached towards the attic window. "Let's do some **real** climbing."

The tree branches did reach a little above and towards the attic window with its narrow ledge. The problem was that there was still a goodly distance between the last branch sturdy enough to carry the weight of the children, and the window. Dekaras had thought of this, however. "We can do this either way", he said once they'd climbed as high as possible. "Do you want to pick the lock, or shall I?"

Poppy gave the window an appraising look. "I think I'd better", she said. "It'll be easier for you to hold onto me than the other way around, I think." 

The boy nodded, and carefully made his way out on a long branch, some distance above the attic window. Then he hung himself by his knees from the branch, as far out as he dared and a little beyond. "Done", he said, his voice tense. "Your turn." 

Poppy swallowed heavily; her small face scrunched up with resolve. Acrobatics was a skill very useful for an assassin to have, and 'the Viper' had taught her a trick or two. She took a deep breath, and then she leapt, twisting in the air like a small, furry-footed projectile. Then she was safe again, her Best Friend having caught her and holding tightly onto her ankles. Suspended upside-down as she was it was tricky picking the lock, and one single unthinking movement was likely to hurl them both to their deaths. Fortunately, the lock in itself wasn't particularly difficult. A few agonizingly long minutes later it clicked open, and the by now very red-faced halfling could pull the window open and reveal the darkness inside. "All clear", Poppy whispered. "Let's swing."

Her Best Friend didn't answer in words, since the strain of holding onto her was beginning to get to him. He was breathing quite heavily by now, and his face was twisted up with the exertion as he started swinging by his knees. Slowly at first, then faster and faster, creating a sort of pendulum with Poppy as its end. "On the count of three!" Poppy panted. "One…two…three!" And then he let go, just as she was on the highest point of her trajectory, and she flew through the open attic window, landing in an unceremonious heap on the floor. She hurriedly got to her feet again. "Your turn!" she hissed. 

Dekaras nodded, though it was difficult to tell since he was still upside-down and dangling from the branch. "Right", he said, his voice heavy with strain. "Please try not to drop me. One…two…three." Then he let go as well, spinning through the air towards the window twisting himself to turn right-side-up. He just managed to catch hold of the windowsill, but he was tired by now and most likely he would have fallen anyway if Poppy hadn't been there to help haul him inside.

Once safely inside the attic, the two children lay in a heap on the floor for a while, trying to catch their breaths. "Wow", Poppy said once she was finally able to speak normally again. "That was really exciting. Incredibly dangerous, but really exciting. Sort of fun, actually."

Her Best Friend's answering smile was positively wicked. "Wasn't it just?" He paused. "Want to do it again sometime?"

The attic turned out to be a very interesting place, filled with abandoned and dusty furniture, as well as several large heaps of fascinating books and scrolls. It would have been very tempting to linger for some time. "Look at all these books!" Poppy exclaimed as she stared at the large piles. "Sometimes I wonder what it would be like to be a character in a book. Do you think it would be fun, Dekkie?"

The boy snorted. "No, I don't", he said. "I'm sure I'd get to be the one who gets subjected to all sorts of terrible mental and physical anguish, simply because some callous writer wants to provide drama." 

"Sounds a bit like a hero character to me." 

"Poppy, I don't want to be a hero, they’re stupid. Now let's go. Or did you intend for us to hang about in an attic for the rest of our lives?"

The attic door fortunately proved easy to unlock, and the children slipped down a narrow staircase and on through the dark hallways of the house. They tried to keep close to the walls and inside the shadows as much as possible, anxious not to let themselves get spotted. So far, they hadn't seen a single living soul though. "Where do you suppose Master Seres will be?" Poppy whispered.

"Asleep, most likely. We should check the bedrooms first, they ought to be on one of the upper floors."

"But what if he isn't? What if he's out working or something?"

"Then we'll just have to come back another night, won't we? Trust me, everything is going just fine…"

It was at precisely this moment that the two apprentice assassins turned a corner and found themselves facing the single largest man either of them had ever seen. His bald head almost brushed the roof, his bare chest was as massive as a tree-trunk, and his arms were as wide around as a normal man's legs. He was wearing a pair of rather hideous golden and puffy trousers, and a large and very sharp scimitar hung from his belt. Flat and unemotional eyes regarded the children as he drew his sword with a slow and deliberate motion. "Trespassers will die", he calmly stated. 

"Now wait just a teensy minute", Poppy protested and started backing away. "You don't really want to hurt us. We're students of Master Seres'!" 

"I know", the man said with an unpleasant smile. "He gave special orders about you two. Whoever brings him your little heads is gonna get rewarded."

"Hey!" Poppy shouted, sounding outraged. "He can't do that! You…you big old poopy-head!" Then she stuck her tongue out. 

The young Dekaras felt he really ought to do something to defuse the situation at this point. Preferably say something witty, clever, charming and diplomatic. Unfortunately, he couldn't think of anything like that, and so he said the first thing that popped into his mouth, hoping to at least stall for some time. "Um…sir?" he asked. "You're a eunuch, aren't you?"

This had the partially desired effect of the man forgetting about his urge to lop Poppy's head off. Sadly, Dekaras noticed, the man was now fixing about ten times as much murderous attention on him. "What…did…you…SAY?!" the possible-eunuch asked in a voice that sounded like it could be used to cut through rocks. 

"Well…you do look like one, sir. Surely you must know." _Now what's wrong? He is bald, and very large. And he's an armed guard. That's what it means to be a eunuch, isn't it? Surely, I couldn't have been that wrong?_ The boy was rapidly backing away from the most-likely-not-a-eunuch by now, keeping his eyes fixed on that enormous sword. For some reason he couldn't quite manage to keep his mouth shut either, even though he had a terrible feeling that he was digging himself deeper in with every word he spoke. "Did…did you always want to become a eunuch?" he asked, hoping his voice didn't sound as frightened as he felt. "Did you have to train long for it? Or were you a natural talent?"

The almost-certainly-not-a-eunuch was a dark red in the face by now, and he was snorting like an angry bull, too enraged for words. Dekaras was rapidly getting a sinking feeling that perhaps 'eunuch' meant something entirely different than he had imagined. This made him wonder about 'harem' as well, particularly since sneaking into them was apparently a traditional roguish thing to do. He hoped it wasn't too painful. He also hoped he would live long enough to find out. _I couldn't possibly hope to fight him_ , he thought, dodging a swipe of the large sword. _Have to think of something._

Unfortunately, he didn't exactly have the time to sit down and calmly formulate a plan. The absolutely-not-a-eunuch kept coming for him, much faster than a man that large ought to be able to move, and the boy was running for his life around the room, dodging and jumping to try to keep away from the sword. "Poppy, get out!" he screamed. _It's my fault she's here in the first place. The least I can do is to try to keep her safe._ Then he tripped over a low footstool and fell, and saw the enormous sword raised high above him. _I wonder if I'll have the time to feel pain. I hope not_. 

"No!" Poppy yelled, her braids flying around her round face as she leapt on top of a table. "I'm not leaving you here!" Then she turned to the furious I'm-not-a-eunuch-and-I'll-kill-anybody-who-says-so. She was waving her tiny fists in his direction and her face was an angry red. "Hey! Mr Eunuch! Pick on somebody your own size!" 

The man gave the diminutive and enraged halfling a derisive look, and then he burst out laughing. So hard did he laugh that for a few moments he forgot all about the boy lying on the floor at his feet. 

This momentary lapse of concentration gave the young Dekaras some much needed respite. And the cold fire was raising through his blood now, as it had before. The world was shifting, coming more sharply into focus, every sound and smell magnified. Yet at the same time his vision was narrowing, becoming locked on the man in front of him. Just two things existed in the world. Himself, and the man. The target. The black fire was rearing higher now, lending him new strength. _Fight_ , it hissed in his mind. _Fight to live. Fight to protect. Fight to kill. If you don't, he'll kill you both._ He was struggling to pull his dagger free, but the man was towering over him, raising his sword once again, meaning to harm him, meaning to harm his companion. _No!_ It was a silent scream in his mind, raw with anger and desperation. _Not again. I won't allow it._ And now the dagger was out of its sheath, and he rammed it upwards, as hard and as fast as he could, instinct guiding the blade to the one spot available where he knew it would **really** hurt. 

The man screamed, an odd, choked sound, suddenly gray in the face. Then he fell, hot blood spurting rapidly from the wound, and the boy was forced to quickly roll out of the way in order not to get crushed. As painful as it was, the wound needn't necessarily have been fatal in itself. However, as the newly-made-eunuch toppled he managed to smash his bald head into the sharp angle of a table. The table held, but his skull did not. He gasped and shuddered for a few moments, and then he was still. 

Poppy was still trying to make sense of what she had just seen, as well as to reassure herself that she was still alive. As she jumped off the table her heart was beating harder than it ever had in her entire life. _He…he killed him. He's just a kid like me, but he killed him. Wow._

Her Best Friend was slowly getting to his feet, his face a little paler than usual as he wiped the dagger off on a tablecloth. "So…", Poppy said. "That was really something. Er…ever kill anybody before? I mean…I know we're in training to be assassins and all, and I'm not complaining or anything, it's just a little weird, isn't it?"

The boy didn't answer immediately, looking as if he was remembering something. "Yes", he eventually said, his black eyes haunted with memories. "Yes, I have. Twice before." He shuddered briefly. "It…was really bad the first time, even if I had no choice and she really deserved it. I dreamt about it a few times. But now…I think I'm starting to get used to it. I suppose that's a good thing." 

The halfling crossed the floor on still wobbly legs and proceeded to give her Best Friend a fierce hug. "Thanks, Dekkie", she said. "You saved my life."

For a moment the boy looked a little surprised, but then he gave her a faint smile and returned the gesture. "You're welcome", he said. "After all, you saved mine as well. Bet that will annoy Master Seres to no end." 

That comment made Poppy remember something very important. "Master Seres!" she gasped. "He was really trying to have us killed! Not just by traps or anything like that, he was really **trying**!"

"So it seems, yes."

"But…but he's our teacher! He's not supposed to do things like that. We're supposed to be able to trust him." 

For a moment her Best Friend looked much older than his years, and there was a trace of ancient sorrow in his eyes. "Poppy", he said, "what did I tell you about trust before? You can't trust people just because they're grownups, or in authority…or….or even family. I learnt that already. Try to do the same, and to keep to yourself, then you'll live longer."

_That is so sad_ , Poppy thought, resisting the urge to say so. She didn't think it would go over well. "Dekkie?" she said. "You trust me though, don't you?"

The boy paused for a moment. "Well, obviously", he said, a little irritably. "That's different."

"It is? Why?"

"It…it just is. Now let's go, before somebody else comes. Oh, and Poppy?"

"Yes?"

"Would you stop calling me that? It makes me sound like a puppy or something."

The halfling giggled, enjoying the put out look on her Best Friend's face. "Nope, Dekkie", she said, showing off both her dimples. "Like I said, I think it suits you." 

The children now started searching for an accessible exit. If their teacher was really out to kill them for some reason, then there didn't seem to be much they could do other than escape. "I really do hate abandoning the assignment though", Dekaras complained. "It feels…sloppy." 

"But we have to. It's way too dangerous to stay."

"Oh, I know. I still don't like it though." Eventually they found a large staircase and started slowly making their way downstairs, nervously watching for more guards all the time. They saw a couple, but fortunately managed to avoid them, and finally they were able to see the front door, a beautiful vision in chestnut and stained glass. 

"We made it!" Poppy breathed. "We're almost there!" 

"Almost", a cold voice said, "but not quite." A skinny figure stepped out of the shadows near the door, his head bobbing on his extended neck in true vulture fashion. "Hello, children", Nargil Seres said with a malevolent smile. "So nice of you to stop by." He took a few steps closer. "I'm sorry to say that you've failed your assignment. Tsk, tsk. Such a sad mistake from two such promising young apprentices. I'm very disappointed in you."

"Disappointed?" Dekaras asked, giving the teacher an extremely cold look. "Sir, if you express 'disappointment' by sending armed sword-wielding maniacs after your students, then I don't really think I wish to see you annoyed." 

"Oh, dear me. That was a sad misunderstanding, nothing more. I tell all my staff to be on careful lookout at all times. There are so many criminals about."

"That's not what he said. He said you wanted our heads." 

The teacher's eyes narrowed a little. "He misspoke. I told him that you should both be safely in bed. Now come here. I'll see that you both get escorted back to the Guild, where Master Gorbia will no doubt have a thing or two to say about your abysmal failure to perform your task." 

The boy kept backing away, dragging Poppy with him by the arm, his whole bearing now that of a cornered animal, prepared to bite. "No", he stated. "Stay away from us." He'd drawn his dagger again and he never took his eyes off the approaching man. 

Seres sneered. "I always knew you were somewhat deranged, boy, but you are about to cross the line. Drop that thing and come with me, or I'll make sure you'll get a beating that will make you bedridden for a month. Now COME HERE!" He was walking faster now, his arms outstretched, no weapon to be seen. 

"No!" the boy snarled, his eyes blazing furiously. "Don't you dare touch us. I won't say it again." 

Poppy was biting her lip, frantically trying to make sense of what was going on. This was a teacher, her mind kept telling her. They shouldn't attack him, that was plain wrong. But he'd tried to kill them. Well, yes. But maybe that was a misunderstanding. But her Best Friend clearly didn't think so. No, but on the other hand her Best Friend didn't exactly trust anybody, now did he? Well, almost anybody. He could be wrong.

"What about you, dear girl?" the Poisoner said, his voice almost fatherly. "I have no problem with you, I know you're more well-behaved than this hopeless troublemaker. Be reasonable and come with me and tell your friend to do the same. It will save us all a whole lot of trouble."

"I…", Poppy hesitated. It would be good to trust her elder. She was used to that from home. It would be safe. Comfortable. To do otherwise would be to step into dark and dangerous water, where sharp rocks and hungry creatures lurked beneath the waves. She shot a glance at her Best Friend and suddenly knew that he was swimming those waters already and had likely done so for quite some time. 

"Poppy", the boy hissed. "Remember what I said?" His grip on the dagger was steady, and he still kept his eyes on Seres. "Believe me. Please!" And Poppy opened her eyes and saw. She saw that the glint in the Poisoner's eyes wasn't a benevolent twinkle after all, but something cold and hungry. She saw the cruel twist of his mouth. And she saw that there was something in his right hand, something almost hidden by his fingers, something she hadn't spotted before. A small blade, very slim and almost invisible, and plain black in color. The man was slowly raising his hand, inch by inch. 

_It's true! He really does mean to kill us_! And something shifted and settled inside the young halfling, as she acted almost without thinking. The sling was in her hand, and the rock, the shiny blue rock that they'd been given to use for their assignment. The sling started swinging through the air, making an angry humming sound. _Can I do this? Can I really?_

Seres must have known that his gambit had failed. Had he managed to lure the children closer he could have taken them out easily, but now he had no choice but an outright attack. He lunged for the halfling girl; blade outstretched. And then he stumbled unsteadily as the boy leapt for him, clinging to his legs, holding him back. The boy didn't really have a chance to use his weapon, all he could do was to hold on, but that was enough to keep Seres from reaching Poppy. The enraged assassin tried to kick the child off, but not even slamming him against the wall seemed to work, he still held on like a terrier. 

"Now, Poppy!" the boy screamed, almost breathless from the impact. "Do it now!" And Poppy saw the blade lifted into the air, that slim black blade, and she saw it start to descend. _Nobody hurts my Best Friend. Nobody_. The blue rock flew through the air with deadly halfling accuracy, and it struck Seres right between the eyes, penetrating his skull. The Poisoner sagged to the ground, staring at the halfling with unbelieving eyes. As the blade dropped from his fingers and landed on the carpet the soft fabric hissed and smoked. It was poisoned, Poppy thought. Just as I guessed. "I'm sorry", she sincerely told the dying assassin. "But I couldn't let you hurt my Best Friend. That wasn't very nice of you." 

As Seres drew his last breath a shimmering blue light sped out of the rock as a hidden spell was activated, forming a blue portal, a window into another place. The two children could see Guildmaster Gorbia looking out at them, a pleased look on his face. "Well done, children", he said. "You have completed your assignment and…" Then he spotted the dead assassin on the floor and frowned. "…and you'd better have an excellent explanation for **that**!"

_Two hours later…_

Gorbia was getting another headache. It wasn't relieved by the convoluted story of the two apprentices sitting in front of him in his office, rather it was worsened by it. "I knew Master Seres was a bit unstable", he said, frowning. "But I never would have guessed he would do a thing like this. I had his place searched, and we found his journal. It seems he thought you (here he nodded at the black-haired boy) were a disruptive influence, and probably out to kill him as well." 

"Me, sir?" the boy said, sounding perfectly innocent. He was rubbing his shoulder absent-mindedly, apparently still in some discomfort from having made violent contact with the wall earlier. "What would make him think a thing like that?"

"Oh, I don't know. How about that essay of yours? 'Six ways to kill the Poisoner'?"

"Oh, that", the boy said with a dismissive smile. "That was just theoretical stuff. I didn't actually mean to do it, even if he was an old crackpot." 

Gorbia cleared his throat warningly. 

"Ah, sorry about that, sir", the boy said, not sounding the least bit sorry. "A somewhat eccentric but dedicated teacher, I meant." Then he said something very quietly that sounded suspiciously like 'and a complete and utter loony'. He paid no attention whatsoever to the Head Assassin's stern look. 

"Hmpf", Gorbia said. "At any rate, it seems he was prepared to call your bluff about keeping that file on his more embarrassing moments. I suppose you must have really annoyed him. Not that I'm surprised. You do seem to have an inborn talent for being aggravating, you know."

"Thank you, sir. I try my best." 

"What about me?" Poppy asked, squirming impatiently on her chair. The tiny halfling had regained most of her usual cheerfulness once she no longer had to look at the corpse of her former teacher, and now she was almost back to normal. Loud, merry and hyperactive that was. "Why would he wanna kill me?"

"I think he just considered you an extra nuisance", Gorbia said apologetically. "He didn't want to leave any witnesses. Otherwise he thought you were harmless, judging from his notes."

"Harmless?!" the halfling squeaked angrily. "Harmless! I'll give him 'harmless' that old…"

"Poppy", the black-haired boy said in a mild voice. "You already did. Remember?"

"Oh", Poppy said with a sheepish grin. "I guess I forgot…a little bit. Sorry." 

"That's all right." The boy gave his companion a considerate look. "How are you feeling now? Not wanting to throw up anymore?"

"Um…no", the girl said, shaking her head. "I'll be fine. Guess the first time's the worst, right Dekkie?"

"I guess so." The boy suddenly seemed to become aware of the Guildmaster's presence once again. "Er…sir? Was that a scrying spell linked to the rock?"

"Yes, it was", Gorbia said. "Why do you ask?"

"Just curious. May we go now, sir? I think Poppy's pretty much done for." 

The Head Assassin gave the small halfling a considering look. She was drooping in her chair by now, fighting to keep her eyes open. "Yes, you may", he said. "Off to bed with you. And please try not to kill any more of your teachers tonight. I only have so many to spare." 

The boy gave him a small smirk. "Yes, sir. We'll try to remember that." Then he helped his companion to her feet. "Off we go then, Poppy." 

The Guildmaster watched the two children as they left his chambers. "You know, Dekkie", the halfling girl was saying, "that was a really brave thing you did back there, jumping Master Seres like that. That blade was poisoned, he almost killed you!" 

The boy shrugged, and when he replied his voice was warmer and more sincere than Gorbia had ever heard it. "What else was I supposed to do?" he asked. "I couldn't very well let him kill my Best Friend, now could I?"

The halfling squealed with delight. "I knew you'd want to be my Best Friend! I knew it! Oh, I'm so happy I could sing. Do you want me to sing you a little song? I did promise that earlier, didn't I? Here's a cute one my Ma taught me. _Hugs for you, hugs for me, we're as happy as can be, all the little…"_

"Poppy, I don't want a song! Please! No singing!" 

"Aw, come on. It's a good song. I'll teach you the hand movements too…"

_Well, well_ Gorbia thought to himself with a pleased smile as he listened to the fading voices of the two young apprentices walking down the stairs. _Looks like somebody is going to remain human after all. This may prove to be a more successful night than I had guessed._


End file.
